Randy Moss: Hall of Fame Tie Caused Me to Get Hate Mail

Randy Moss, who drew headlines during his Hall of Fame speech for wearing a tie with the names of multiple black people, most of whom died as a result of police violence or while in police custody, said he has been receiving racist hate mail over the last week. 

"The black community praised me and thanked me for shedding light on African-Americans dying," Moss told Jason Reid of The Undefeated. "Then on the flip side, you’ve got sites where people are slamming me, saying ‘Hey, n—–, stay in your place.’ They’re saying, ‘You’re a dumb black jock. You just need to stick to playing football, n—–.’ All of this hate mail I’m getting for wearing a tie and talking about the truth. But I can handle it because I’ve been dealing with racism my whole life. I’ve deleted a lot of hate mail. Probably 150 to 200 messages the last few days. But that’s fine because I can speak out. A lot of guys don’t feel comfortable doing that."

The names of Greg Gunn, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Paul O’Neal, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Michael Brown, Akiel Denkins, and Trayvon Martin were written on Moss' tie for his induction speech Saturday.

Colin Kaepernick began a movement of players kneeling for the national anthem to protest police violence and systemic oppression of minorities. Moss said he wore the tie in part because his platform allows him the freedom to do so and to stand up for athletes who may otherwise be too scared.

"Athletes are scared right now. A lot of athletes, most guys, don’t want to talk about this. They’re terrified for their careers. They’re terrified about losing their occupation, which is how they feed their families," Moss said.  "Black athletes know they’re being treated a certain type of way. Most guys can’t really voice their opinions. They’re worried about getting the same type of treatment that Colin Kaepernick got."

Moss said he hopes the tie sparked a conversation and added he hopes to be able to use his platform to enact change. In an effort to show solidarity with police, Moss said he will auction off the tie and give part of the proceeds to police, first responders and organizations focusing on youth. 

"There are things that shouldn’t be happening," Moss said. "And then you have people in this country hurting from missing their loved ones. We just have to come together to admit what’s going on and try to fix it. I really want to try to help. I really want to try to be part of the solution."